Alus (Ull -lis)

The continent of Alus has been home to Ancients, Immortals, Mortals, and Outsiders alike. Each has left their mark on the continent and changed it irrevocabily. Known sometimes as the playground of gods, the continent is host to events where the Ancients and Mortals clash over who will be sovereign over their destiny and Immortals and Outsiders make their plans to protect or destroy the inhabitants. And throughout all of this, the beauty of the continent is ever present, outliving the most ancient of empires and it will outlive even more.

Geography

The Aberrant Lands

Nestled between the The Weavers' Forest and the mountains of Alus is a stretch of land where no kingdom rules. Where no mortal is truly safe. During the Elder-Eternal War, several vessels of aberrations forces crashed landed in the region. With what technology they had left, they attacked in all directions, attempting to complete the X'ith'ila's objectives. In the end, they were defeated and they slunk back into the trees and hills. And they made it their home. The landscape changed as nature grew lush and overgrown, monstrous in nature as well. And the colors are unlike anything of normal nature, prismatic. And all food grown in that land has a foul smell and the creatures that eat it have monstrous descendents in kind. And yet people still try to make a home for themselves and heal what the aberrations have damaged. Notable geographic sights include:

• Prismatic Forests
• The Hive
• The Organic Fields

The Badlands

In the northeastern section of the Dragon's Fangs, there exist ruins of the first and only Eternal Empire. A dream started by the Eternal Emperor to protect the mortals of Avestra. Yet the combined efforts of the young mortal specices, the ancients, and the Lone Wanderer and Protector led to his downfall. And in that fall, another foe struck. The Daemons, waiting and planning, hatched their plan when they caused a rift to open in the center of the Eternal Empire's capital. It consumed most of the city and shot Daemonic-infused stones across Alus and beyond before the efforts of the army were able to stop it from growing. And that was when it served as a gateway for Daemons to pour into Avestra. Over the next century, they poured out in a great invasion force, attempting to slaughter the whole of the continent and the world beyond. The landscape was twisted by the devastation and their evil. The rocky hills are colored with numerous dark hues, the color leached out of them. Ravines and crags and canyons liter the region, aftermaths for climatic battles fought by powerful heroes and Daemons. And an uneasy chill hangs in the air in this region, accompanied by distortions in reality. Notable geographic sights include:

• The Great Wound
• Reality Distortions
• Daemon Wastes

The Dragon Coast

The southern reaches of Alus are the most varied in geography, with wetlands along the sea, forests rolling from those swamps and grasslands dotted throughout. It makes sense why this served as the homeland and hiding place for many dragons through the eons. Sweeping green hills and sometimes barren hills were also common the closer one got to the mountains. Though a decent chunk of these lands have been devastated by the Fell Dragon’s numerous attacks over the centuries. Notable geographic sights include:

• Dragon Mounds
• Drakon Coves

The Dragon's Fangs/The Giant's Peaks

The mountain range in the center of Alus was given two names, each attributed to the ancient empires of dragons and giants. It makes sense as both laid claim to these mountains countless times during the days of their empires. It shouldn’t be too surprising that the dragons held the peaks the most, eventually leading to the highlands under their control. Forests, barren rock, and slight grasslands exist along the sides of the motions and even at their peaks. Even the interiors of the mountains and their depths carved out by the Under empires are full of life, especially in the southern lands of the Deno. The most notable sight of the Fangs and Peaks is the Fell Mountain. The home of the Fell Dragon is littered with the bones of the ancient empires and it is a constantly destination for Eno in attempts to kill it and forestall its attack on the rest of Alus. Notable geographic sights include:

• The Tainted Mountain
• The Mountain Graves
• The Giant's Fingers

The Emperor's Sea

The lands west of the mountains have been devastated by the wrath of the Fell Dragon the most, the desert and grasslands closest to it made by the dragon’s fire razing countless forests that stood since the fall of the Dragon Empire. Further west, the land turns to verdant and lush forests and eventually wetlands where the coast meets the Ocean. Further north, the temperate forests turn to taigas, some of which have been felled by conflict between the Nomi and Lumin people. Notable geographic sights include:

• The Shallow Graves
• The Dry Seas
• The Fell Lights

The Northern Taigas

Home to the Lumin Orcs and the Jovun Giants, this was considered the first landing and the last respite of the Jovun people. While grassland and wetlands dot the area, the taiga forests are the basis for the majority of the land. And due to the Lumin Orcs and their fierce defense of nature, this region claims the oldest trees in all of Avestra and even their war with the Jovun haven't damaged many of them. Notable geographic sights include:

• The Ancient Magnificence
• The Jovun's Grove
• The Laughing Woods

Orzag's Cradle

The cradle of Grumin civilization. Many kingdoms and empires have claimed this region since the fall of the Giants and the rise of the young mortal species. The Fell Dragon devastated a section of it during it's destructive attack in the 12th century but most of the region is still very habitable. Deciduous and rain forests stretch across the landscape, cut down here and there to provide land for farms and for cities. There are even cities interwoven into the forests and along the coast. Notable geographic sights include:

• The Scarred Kingdoms
• Duluk Wilds
• The Webbed Rivers

Thrun Isle

One of the lands where the Giants fled to in the fall of their great Empire. It is a land untouched by the younger species. The island holds an inactive volcano as well as tundra, wetlands, and taiga. Not much is known besides that about the region as the Thrun people refuse to venture into the outside world and don't allow many outsiders. It is a land shrouded in mystery. Notable geographic sights include:

• The Mistlands
• The Sleeping Spires
• The Cove of Remembrance

The Weavers' Forest

Southeast of the Aberrant Lands and south of Orzag's Cradle lies the domain of the Arachni and their subjects. The same forests that are common in Orzag's Cradle extend all the way down to the Weavers' Forests and more majestic and magical views exist such as tall trees that can extend as high as mountains. The elder trees are venerated by druids and protected fiercely against any excursion, especially with war on the horizon from the Orelian empires to the south. Notable geographic sights include:

• Catspaw River
• The Silken Sepulcher
• The Sisters' Loom

Localized Phenomena

There is a theory that due to the large amount of arcane, divine, occult, and primal magic flowing through Alus from the numerous conflicts and civilizations that the strong phenomena on the continent are related to it. There are no shortage to them, especially in the Badlands. The aforementioned regions holds many distortions in reality which has caused numerous phenomena in the weather. Snow in the summer seasons due to the cold Daemon influence left behind, black mists that blot out the sun for days or weeks on end, stretching even to months. And even when there are clear skies at night, the stars don't shine down, Aeternum and the three moons of Avestra only visible in that darkness.
In every area the Fell Dragon has devastated, dust storms are common in the region. And during storms and high winds, the sound of the dragon's roar can be heard and the screams of those killed in the dragon fire. And there are stories of spirits who were claimed by the dragon yet cannot move on completely wandering the desolated lands. begging anyone to help them. And should one be foolish enough to do so without adventurers, the spirits attack them, claiming their life force in an ever-draining hunger. This same phenomena happens in the mountains as one gets closer to the Tainted Mountain.
In the Aberrant Lands, prismatic auroras are a constant at night. The stars are strange and unlike any existing outside of the region. Avestra's celestial companions are the only constant in this region in the night sky that people would recognize. Many astronomers head into the region to chart these stars to potentially find out where these stars would be in normal Avestran skies.

Climate

Since there is only one mountain range in the center of the continent, most of Alus has wet weather year round. The coastlands are constantly inundated with rain, supporting the many rivers that flow across it. However, the closer one gets to the mountains, the dryer it gets. It doesn't help that the Fell fires burnt the ground to the point where it can't retain moisture and makes the lands even colder than the far north.
Much of the continent's warmth comes from the south, making Orzag's Cradle, the Dragon Coast, and the Weavers' Forest the more verdant and temperate lands, explaining why the Giants fled north since less of their population existed there to be slaughtered during the fall of their empires. Meanwhile the northern Taiga, the Emperor’s Sea, and the Badlands are colder facing temperatures close to freezing annually. However, none are as cold as the mountains and the Underoads beneath them. The Fell Dragon’s influence on his mountain and their height has made them a bastion for the cold.
Hurricanes, tropical storms and typhoons become even more common in the summer months, especially in the Emperor’s Sea and Orzag’s Cradle. It is common to the point where military campaigns in the past have planned around these events with the help of neutral Druids who simply predict what the weather might be. Of course, this is not always exact, causing both great victories and disastrous defeats.

Natural Resources

The continent is abundant with natural resources even after the long age of the dragon and giants. Tons of old growth forests that are carefully picked out for lumber as needed. The trees have the ability to regenerate and regrow at a scale and speed unseen in trees outside the continent. There have even been efforts to take these trees and implant them on other continents to impart said trait onto the other trees. For good or ill.
The depths of Alus are home to many precious metals and materials, enriched by the divine and profane blood that has seeped into the land. The mountain holds of the north keep a tight grip on them, even though they trade in their isolationist nature. Each country does everything they can to find mines of these rare metals, especially as war is on the horizon. There are stories of Jovun and Lumin forces wielding weapons of powerful materials. Even adventurers take these weapons into places such as the Aberrant Lands or Badlands to use against the foul entities that exist. But there is no greater use of them than against the Fell Dragon like the Great Hunt that occured in the 11th century after the devastation of Bra'lakun.

History

Alus was first touched by the gods, namely the Dragon Gods and the Jovun Gods. The two clashed in a climatic war that their descendants, the Dragons and the Giants, watched in an attempt to claim the continent and the realm as a whole for their creations. However, the war ended in a stalemate brokered by the Raven Queen, leaving their children to pick up where they left off. The Dragon and Giant empires clashed but eventually came to their own peace treaty, letting the dragons have the highlands while the giants took the lowlands. 
Eventually, the two empires started experimenting and researching to find a way to defeat the other. However, the ultimate disaster came in the form of the Elder Dragons, amongst which, the Fell Dragon rose to prominenance. They laid waste to the twin ancient empires and drove both into hiding, setting the groundwork for the mortal empires to rise. Countries rose and fell for milennia, the Under Empires which found their successors in isolationist countries and people from Faenum.
Alus faced devastation once again when the X'ith'ila attacked Avestra at the beginning of the Eternal Age, causing the return of the ancient dragons and giants. Their resurgance didn't happen until the Daemon Invasion when splinter groups believed it was up to them to put the mortal races back in line and defend their homeland. But with their return came the Fell Dragon as well who has been a constant thorn in the side of all inhabitants. With the ancients returning, the Protector of Avestra - Eno - often appearing in the land, and the lands saturated by occult and profane magic alike, Alus is ground zero for what could be climatic events in the future.

Type

Continent

Included Organizations

• The Grusha

Contested By

• Brandovia: The Enemy of Gods
• Haiakage: The Meritocratic Empire
• The Arachni Duchy of Racid
• The Draconic Kingdom of Bra'Lakun
• The Draconic League of Ziminsi
• The Empire of Virush
• The Flame Empire of Sgand
• The Inheriting Dakoblin Tribes
• The Isolationist Mazidun Holds
• The Jovun Empire of Yggdragun
• The Last Freehold of Deradam
• The Northern Khanate of Skuvtun
• The Psionic Principality of Deno-Kirin
• The Respite Duchy of Thrun
• The Twin Shogunates of the Divine Host

Inhabiting Species

• Bugbear
• Carinthi
• Centaur
• Dragonborn
• Draxeeli
• Dwarves
• Elves
• Fera
• Firbolg
• Gattifolk
• Giants
• Gnomes
• Goblin
• Goliath
• Half-Elf
• Half-Orc
• Hobgoblin
• Humans
• Kobold
• Minotaur
• Nezumi
• Orc
• Vampires

Related Plots

• The War for Avestra

Related Historical Events

• 700 EA
  The Fell Dragon's Terror